The invention relates to a cleaning apparatus, in particular a suction apparatus, comprising a cleaning unit driven by an electric motor and comprising a housing which has a battery chamber for accommodating at least one rechargeable battery, a connecting device having a mechanical mounting part and an electrical plug connector part being disposed in the battery chamber for establishing an electrical and mechanical connection between the battery and the cleaning apparatus.
Cleaning apparatuses of this type can be used to clean a surface, for example a floor surface. To this end, the cleaning apparatus comprises a cleaning unit having an electric motor. In order to supply power to the cleaning unit, said cleaning unit can usually be connected to a mains voltage by means of a connection cable. As an alternative, the supply of power can be ensured by a rechargeable battery which can be inserted into the battery chamber. The battery chamber contains a connecting device for establishing a mechanical and electrical connection between the battery and the cleaning apparatus. The battery is fixed in position by means of the mechanical mounting part, and the electrical connection between the battery and the cleaning unit driven by an electric motor can be established by means of the electrical plug connector part.
The rechargeable batteries used are usually matched to the cleaning apparatus to which they are to be fitted both in terms of their electrical properties, in particular the battery voltage, and also with respect to their physical shape. This has the advantage that the shape of the battery chamber can correspond exactly to the physical shape of the battery to be accommodated and the batteries can be securely held in the battery chamber in a simple manner. However, this is associated with the disadvantage that the respectively matched batteries have to be available to the user and other batteries, which the user already uses for electric tools for example, cannot be used.
It is an object of the present invention to further develop a cleaning apparatus of the type mentioned in the introduction in such a way that batteries of different physical shapes can be used.